Joel Such (@joel_such) Medias

5 days agoA recently fledged Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis) patiently waits for its mother to make a food delivery.

1 week agoAmerican pika (Ochotona princeps) — Due to climate change, this adorable fist-sized herbivore is in great peril. Adapted to cold mountainous climates of the west, they are extremely sensitive to warm temperatures and are considered a key indicator species in studying the effects of climate change on the environment. Beyond struggling with warmer summer temperatures, reduced snow cover in the winter, which provides crucial insulation, leaves them more vulnerable to severe cold when they are trying to conserve heat.

2 weeks agoIn my natural habitat doing what I love.

1 month agoAn adult male Brown-capped Rosy-Finch dives off an alpine cliff in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Breeding almost entirely in Colorado, this species is undergoing a rapid decline with climate change likely being the leading cause. — Practically every day this summer, I am somewhere between 12,000 and 14,000 feet perched on cliffs or hanging out on snowfields researching this incredible species. My work consists of surveying for presence, trapping the birds, banding them, and collecting blood and feather samples for genetic and isotopic analysis.

1 month agoGreen Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza), a widely distributed tanager species found from southern Mexico to Brazil. Because of the vibrant blue coloration (not green), this individual is a male. The species gets its name from the green-plumaged females.

1 month agoA Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) fuels itself mid-migration at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Texas before continuing north to its breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra of Canada and Alaska.

2 months agoThe evening light sets on Cerro Castellan in Big Bend National Park, Texas. This photo was taken during a six day competition for the Great Texas Birding Classic this past April. The official results were recently announced and I’m proud to say that our Swarovski sponsored team won the competition with 380 species, smashing the previous record by over 20 species. Beyond winning the Roger Tory Peterson Memorial Trophy for the year, we also have the privilege of selecting an approved Texas-based conservation project to receive $10,000. Take a look at @highwayhawks for more photos.

2 months agoOn June 9th, the official results for the 2018 Great Texas Birding Classic will be announced! We are continuing to post to our team Instagram account, so be sure to check it out at @swarovski_highwayhawks — There wasn’t much time during the Classic for photography, but it was impossible to resist the photo-op this Black-throated Green Warbler provided.

2 months agoAndean Emerald (Amazilia franciae) spreading its wings and tail at the Montezuma Rainforest Reserve and Eco-Lodge in Colombia. These hummingbirds are found in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

2 months agoI’m back and incredibly excited to begin sharing my work from Latin America! First, I present you with a Broad-billed Motmot (Electron platyrhynchum). Motmots are one of the most striking groups of birds found throughout Latin America. They sport long tails, are adorned with colorful plumage, and often perch quietly in forests where they hunt insects, spiders, and sometimes lizards and frogs. In this motmot encounter, I observed the bird hawking for insects in a small forest clearing. At one point, the bird surprisingly landed a few feet away allowing me to get a sharp, full frame shot of the head.